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CoTA sounds like it sucks


Updawg

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Shuttle service from Barton creek on Saturday worked fine. We stuck around for a while after qualifying to let the crowds die though. And the dedicated bus lane was bullshit as I suspected and that was the only thing that enticed me to try it.

I’ll just go back to parking in the neighborhood south in the future and will probably only go on Friday.

Seems like Saturday was the most packed I’ve seen it and I’ve been pretty much every year. Maybe comparable to the first year.

Concessions and some of the layout of them were a mess and there were not enough staff at all. Certain areas could have been dangerous

Feel bad for the people in lot q. They got screwed. I’ve used that lot before and it used to be great.

This place definitely does 1 step forward 10 backwards. I’m sure we will be hearing about a shuttle guarantee/promise soon

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COTA has washed their hands of the matter. They say they are not responsible for the transportation of fans to the USGP - despite those fans paying COTA 100s of $$$ for a Park & Ride lot.

Shameful, but just more of the same from COTA.

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I didn't get to see it, but it sounds like KXAN put it all on the bus contractor & said they were only 5 buses short, which is bullshit. This is pretty much what I expected when I heard KXAN was running the story. KXAN Investigates is a joke, and the guy who runs KXAN is buddies with that puto Bobby.

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i recall that at least one other time we parked in lot L (or thereabouts) and i watched the sun set over traffic on 71.  most years we've ridden on a shuttle and, other than the first year and an hours long line to leave, those have been ok.  two times we've been on privateer parking (2018 i'm nearly certain the people taking money had nothing to do with the person who owned the land). 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Yeah, so ... COTA COTA'd this shit up. Again. Hundreds of angry tweets from people STILL stuck in traffic after 3 or more hours. Concert started 70 minutes ago. Some people saying there's no traffic control at all, and not enough parking & some saying they have been in traffic for 2 hours even after arriving on COTA property, and are still stuck. Vidoes of cars just sitting there, for a mile or two from the track, etc. 

Just another epic COTA shitshow.

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8 hours ago, Goofyboy said:

COTA sent out a message telling people not to use Waze and follow their directions to 812 and another road in. Waze showed Elroy closed and it wasn’t. This wasn’t totally on COTA this time.

Good to know, Bobby Epstein. 

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COTA sent out a message telling people not to use Waze and follow their directions to 812 and another road in. Waze showed Elroy closed and it wasn’t. This wasn’t totally on COTA this time.
We didn't use Waze and it was still a cluster fuck, its still on COTA. The parking info on the website was as clear as mud. I thought we needed a permit for lot R but after driving for an hour and a half, I decided to try lot R and if we couldn't park there, at least maybe we could get some info on where we could park. When we pulled up the attendant was clueless. She asked, "are you here for Lot R"? If I would have just said yes, we could have gone right in for free apparently. But my dumb ass said "I don't have a permit, can I just pay here and park here". She said "well it's $40 but we don't have change here so you can go to this other lot". But after an hour and a half, I just wanted to park and all I had was a $50 so I gave it to her and said don't worry about the change, I just want to park. But then as we were walking out of the lot to go to the show, I noticed she was just asking people if they were there for Lot R and letting people through without checking for a permit or taking any cash so she basically just pocketed my $50. No one there knows shit, the show was great but COTA is just a giant clusterfuck and no one working there knows shit

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10 hours ago, Goofyboy said:

COTA sent out a message telling people not to use Waze and follow their directions to 812 and another road in. Waze showed Elroy closed and it wasn’t. This wasn’t totally on COTA this time.

It's on COTA. Some people said it took them 2-3+ hours to get to the parking spot after they turned onto COTA Blvd. They had no traffic control, which was the main cause of the huge delays, people were getting mis-routed all over the place, and many lots were full when people arrived at the them, because COTA oversold the lots. Residents in the area couldn't get home or leave to go anywhere. Ingress and egress to and from the lots and the concert were completely fucked up, with bottlenecks where none is necassary. When I went to bed last night at 130, there were still people tweeting that they were still stuck in their parking lot. One guy said he'd been there for like 2 hours before he even moved a foot.

It was a complete and utter shitshow.

Epstein is a POS & doesn't give a fuck about anything but the $$$ coming in, and it shows more than ever lately. He's not spending on anything he can get away without, even for the biggest events. Seems almost like he's winding the place up, and getting whatever he can get on the way out.

Buyer beware.

Edited by wood
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What a steaming pile of utter horseshit...

POS Epstein is blaming the roads, Waze, the personnel companies, Captal Metro, the City, and the County. Of course it's not COTA's fault. It never is.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/cota-points-to-hiring-difficulties-gps-app-issues-for-traffic-trouble-at-rolling-stones-concert/

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KXAN has reached out to Capital Metro to ask to what extent they were involved with the concert Saturday night. A spokeswoman said a statement is expected to be released Monday.

“We further thank all the fans who endured the complications and hope you enjoyed the concert of a lifetime,” finished the statement.

Read COTA’s full statement below:

COTA itself is a small group of caring people who want to provide happiness and good memories, not frustration.   To host large events, the team hires, and must rely upon, outside staffing companies to provide mobility-assisted services, parking attendants, food vendors, ushers, and cleaning staff.  Those organizations, not unlike most, have reported that hiring has been incredibly difficult lately, and we appreciate everyone who did their best to make The Rolling Stones concert a great experience.  

Last night, a widely used GPS traffic app incorrectly displayed a major open road as being closed and further displayed a private driveway as being an open road.  Thousands of cars were wrongly directed, thereby turning heavy traffic into a mess.

We encourage Capital Metro and elected officials to heed the calls of our Councilwoman and County Commissioner when they say the residents and businesses in the southeast corridor are underserved.  Public transportation, streetlights, improved roads, and sidewalks are badly needed.   

Additionally, we understand the mobility-assist partners found themselves overwhelmed with demand.   An epic, multi-generational band like The Rolling Stones required a lot of patience, and we appreciate those understanding fans who recognize the challenges our provider partners faced.  

We call upon Cap Metro to support the Del Valle neighborhood residents, businesses, and visitors.  We further thank all the fans who endured the complications and hope you enjoyed the concert of a lifetime.   

 

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OBTW, COTA says they're going to resurface 'half the track' (the FIM Safety Directorin said it's actually less than half) February - presumably from the T2 entry to the exit of 10, which is what MotoGP said they needed at a minimum. 

I'm not expecting any miracles though. As far as I know, there's no drainage work planned, and much of what was already resurfaced is already very bumpy again (including T2, and T9 to 10, which MotGP includes among the turns that must be resurfaced for them to return).

This bit from Uncini was particularly telling, imho:

Quote

“We agree to make this section with the riders, that is the real minimum we want to solve. We would like to have only one asphalt complete, but they cannot. They say that no time, probably no money I don’t know, but anyway they cannot do a complete resurface.

 

Edited by wood
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Yeah, it's too much of a mess out there. I'm done with COTA for a bit. It's just not worth the hassle. Didn't go to the Rolling Stones, but seeing the charge for a ticket versus the vantage point... and then seeing the mess it was to actually attend puts me off big time.

Friday F1 was nice to see the cars, but don't need to do that again. No shade, ridiculous concession prices, just not a good experience outside of seeing an F1 car on the track.

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14 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Yeah, it's too much of a mess out there. I'm done with COTA for a bit. It's just not worth the hassle. Didn't go to the Rolling Stones, but seeing the charge for a ticket versus the vantage point... and then seeing the mess it was to actually attend puts me off big time.

Friday F1 was nice to see the cars, but don't need to do that again. No shade, ridiculous concession prices, just not a good experience outside of seeing an F1 car on the track.


Yep. Just the mnimum level of quality & service. That's all any series or its fans are ever going to get from COTA & Bobby Epstein.

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Yeah, it's too much of a mess out there. I'm done with COTA for a bit. It's just not worth the hassle. Didn't go to the Rolling Stones, but seeing the charge for a ticket versus the vantage point... and then seeing the mess it was to actually attend puts me off big time.
Friday F1 was nice to see the cars, but don't need to do that again. No shade, ridiculous concession prices, just not a good experience outside of seeing an F1 car on the track.

I definitely don’t go to shows out there. Haven’t been in years. Wanted to go to the stones but knew it would suck there unless you paid a ton

F1 and smaller races I still go to. But after Saturday this year I might skip next year. But I’ll probably go thinking it might be the last year.

It is a shitshow and only getting worse.
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18 minutes ago, Updawg said:


I definitely don’t go to shows out there. Haven’t been in years. Wanted to go to the stones but knew it would suck there unless you paid a ton

F1 and smaller races I still go to. But after Saturday this year I might skip next year. But I’ll probably go thinking it might be the last year.

It is a shitshow and only getting worse.

Yep. That was exactly the case for me, too. I've been to enough shows out there by lesser acts than the Stones, where you can't even get close at all without expensive upgrades. Even the first couple of upgrades don't get you all that close. The Superstage sucks ass.

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7 minutes ago, wood said:

Yep. That was exactly the case for me, too. I've been to enough shows out there by lesser acts than the Stones, where you can't even get close at all without expensive upgrades. Even the first couple of upgrades don't get you all that close. The Superstage sucks ass.

From the pictures I saw, seems like you'd have a better story if you happened to be in an airport at the same time as Mick Jagger than saying you went to the show where he's performing 1/8 of a mile away.

Edited by FirstTimeCaller
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19 minutes ago, faps said:

This for sure. Going to Montreal for F1 next year hopefully instead of giving COTA any more money. Fingers crossed this covid variant doesn't shut shit down again.

It'll be nice to get Montreal back on the calendar. Dude, you're gonna have a blast. The way the city and the locals embrace F1 is is the polar opposite of the way it is here in Austin. And the women ... mmmm.

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2 minutes ago, wood said:

It'll be nice to get Montreal back on the calendar. Dude, you're gonna have a blast. The way the city and the locals embrace F1 is is the polar opposite of the way it is here in Austin. And the women ... mmmm.

Heck yeah dude. I was there for the race in 2008 (Kubica!) and for a bachelor party in 2017. That city fucks.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Oof. Just heard there might be no F1 at COTA in 2022.

I've been thinking it was weird that I'd heard they were getting a new 5-year deal, followed by Saward saying it a little after that. That was a month or two ago, and since then, there's been no announcement or anything. Nothing but crickets.

Maybe it's the Saward curse.

On the F1 calendar, COTA is listed as "subject to contract". The W Series calendar came out just a few days ago, with the same notation.

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1 hour ago, Goofyboy said:

I hope they get a contract before Tickets go on sale because I don’t trust ole Bobby with ticket money if it ends up cancelled.

I wouldn't buy tickets unless/until the contract is finalized and the date is official on the Calendar.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/2/2022 at 12:49 PM, wood said:

Heard a little more today. Apparently they still don't have a contract, but it may not be far off. Also heard that Vegas is very much on the front burner for FOM - even to the point of being considered a top priority.

On 2/2/2022 at 2:10 PM, Updawg said:

Hope it gets renewed

On 2/2/2022 at 3:00 PM, Goofyboy said:

I hope they get a contract before Tickets go on sale because I don’t trust ole Bobby with ticket money if it ends up cancelled.

On 2/2/2022 at 4:42 PM, utee94 said:

I wouldn't buy tickets unless/until the contract is finalized and the date is official on the Calendar.

Contract signed through at least 2026

https://www.kxan.com/sports/f1-austin/formula-1-renews-contract-with-cota-us-grand-prix-to-stay-in-austin-through-2026/

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3 hours ago, Mittens said:

Hopefully someone asks him about the bumps, crowd control, parking, etc.

Fuck, I would have loved to ask him if he thinks his brother was murdered or actually committed suicide.

And whether IndyCar is coming back, because they were only supposed to pause on COTA for 2021.  I really want to see Jimmie Johnson race in IndyCar, and have no desire to go to Dallas.

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